The German government has reacted sparingly to demands to stop issuing visas to Russians because of Russian armed aggression in Ukraine. Berlin has taken note of the relevant initiative and is awaiting discussion of this topic at the level of EU foreign ministers, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told a news conference in Berlin on Wednesday, 10 August.
“We are currently discussing in the European Union what the seventh sanctions package might look like and what components it might contain. The visa issue also plays a role here. There is no single position on this issue, including at the level of the federal government. In principle, we strive in every way possible to adopt common rules for the EU. This is the strength we demonstrate in the context of the current conflict with the aggressor Russia. We strive to act as unitedly as possible at the European level,” he said. Hebeshtreit.
russian visa ban
For her part, the representative of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andrea Sasse (Andrea Sasse) noted that not only tourists from the Russian Federation will suffer from the ban on issuing visas to Russians. “We are talking here not only about Russian tourists, but, for example, representatives of civil society. We are talking about schoolchildren, students, visas for close relatives of EU citizens or Russian citizens living in the EU. discussion would be to be a very broad circle of people,” explained Sasse.
Earlier, EU member Estonia asked not to issue visas and residence permits to citizens of the Russian Federation as “Russian aggression in Ukraine threatens national security”. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas wrote on her microblog on Twitter: “Stop issuing tourist visas to Russians. Visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right.”
Estonia, as well as Lithuania and Finland, expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Russians are actively entering their territory and then going on vacation to the southern countries of the European Union. “The time has come to stop tourism from Russia,” said Kaya Kallas.
Source: DW
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